Medication marking system

ABSTRACT

A flag for labeling drugs or medications provided in a medication cup, for use in the operating room, has a cup section with an adhesive back surface peelably attached to a backing sheet. A flag section is attached to the cup section of the flag at a bend line. A flag strip also having an adhesive back surface is supplied on the backing sheet. Multiple flags of different colors are preferably provided in a kit. A flag is attached to each cup. The flag section is labeled with a marker or a preprinted label, to indicate the content of the cup. The flag section is folded down so that it partially overlies the open top end of the cup. The syringe strip is adhered to a syringe used to draw medication out of the cup for administration to the patient. The flag and syringe strip provide a visual link or connection between each syringe and the contents of each cup. The risk of administering the wrong drug to a patient is reduced.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This Application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/391,716, filed Mar. 18, 2003, now pending and incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various studies have shown that hospital medication errors occur withalarming frequency, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries eachyear. These medication errors most often involve omission of aprescribed drug, dispensing a drug not prescribed or intended, andproviding improper dosages or improper administration of a prescribedmedication. In one recent wide-ranging study by United StatesPharmacopoeia analyzing medication mistakes at community, government,and teaching hospitals nationwide, thirteen percent of the totalhospital medication errors involved administering the wrong drug. Thesetypes of errors occur in operating rooms, as well as in other hospitallocations.

A still common practice in the operating room is to pour drugs intosterile cups. During surgery, the drugs are drawn into syringes foradministration to the patient. It is, of course, critical that thecorrect drug be administered at the correct site, in the correctconcentration and at the correct time, during a surgical procedure. Forexample, during a surgical procedure, Adrenalin may be poured into onecup, for delivery by a first syringe, and Lidocaine may be poured into asecond cup for delivery via a second syringe. However, after these drugsare removed from their original containers and poured into the cups, itcan be difficult to distinguish between them.

To better avoid administering the incorrect medication or drug, somehospitals have changed procedures by having certain drug vials fittedwith caps that allow the medication to be drawn directly into thesyringe. Another proposed solution is the use of pre-filled labeled unitdoses. While these and other similar techniques can help to preventgiving the wrong drugs to a patient during surgery, disadvantagesremain. Initially, these types of procedures have not necessarily beenadopted in all hospitals. In addition, these types of procedures can bemore difficult and time consuming to carry out, especially whilemaintaining the sterile field in the OR. These factors discourage usingthese types of procedures.

Consequently, notwithstanding the vast technical advances made inmedicine, there is still a great need to reduce medication errors. Thisneed is especially significant in the operating room (OR) environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, a medication labeling kit for use in an operatingroom includes one or more medication cups. A medication flag is attachedto the medication cup. A marker may be provided for marking themedication flag, to indicate the medication provided into the medicationcup.

In a second aspect, the medication flag has a flag section attached to acup section at a bend line. The cup section has an adhesive back adaptedto adhere to the outside cylindrical surface of the cup. The cup may beincluded with the kit or it may be separately provided. The cup may bereusable or disposable, and may be made of plastic, stainless steel, orother material. The flag, which may be foldable relative to the cupsection, is easily visible to members of the surgical team, fromvirtually any viewing angle. Preferably, the medication flag is made ofa colored transparent material. Different colored flags are preferablyprovided in the kit, for use with different medications. The flag canadvantageously also be removed from the cup, without leaving any mark,residue or adhesive on the cup.

In a third aspect, one or more flag or syringe strips are provided withthe medication marking flag. The syringe strip has an adhesive backsurface, for attaching the strip onto a surgical tool or accessory,which will typically be a syringe. The syringe strip then provides avisual connection between the syringe and the cup. This helps thesurgical team confirm the identification of the medication in the cupand syringe. The strip can also be written on to better label thesyringe or other object.

In a method for labeling liquid medications, in an operating roomenvironment, a medication flag is peeled off of a backing strip andadhered to the outside wall of a medication cup. This allows at least apart of the medication flag to be easily viewable by the surgical team,from virtually any viewing position. A syringe strip is preferably alsopeeled off the backing strip and applied to a medical instrument, suchas a syringe, providing a visual link or connection between themedication cup and the syringe.

The invention resides as well in subcombinations of the system, kit,devices, and method steps described.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved medicationmarking system, especially for use in an operating room. Other andfurther objects, features, and advantages will also become apparent fromthe following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, wherein the same reference number indicates the sameelement in each of the views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present medication labeling kit.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a medication cup, which may be providedin the kit shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another medication cup, larger than thecup shown in FIG. 2, which may also be included in the kit shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a front view of pre-printed medication labels on a peel-offbacking strip, which may be included in the kit shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a marker which may be included in the kit shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a medication flag, as included inthe kit shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the flag or syringe strip shown in FIG.6 applied to a syringe.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the medication flag shown in FIG. 6applied to the medication cup shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the medication cup and flag shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED OF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Turning now in detail to the drawings, as shown in FIG. 1, a medicationlabeling kit contains one or more of the devices shown in FIGS. 2-6. Thekit 20 includes a package or sterilization bag 22 having a flatpreferably opaque back surface 24 joined to a preferably transparentconcave front surface 26. The front and/or back surfaces 24 and 26 mayhave a perforation or tear line 28, to allow the package 22 to be easilyopened. In general, after the kit is assembled and the package 22 issealed, the kit is sterilized, using well known techniques.Consequently, notwithstanding later exposure to non-sterile conditions,the package 22 acts as a sterile barrier, maintaining the sterility onthe contents of the kit. The kit may also be provided in a non-sterilecondition for other applications.

The kit may preferably include one or more disposable. Referring toFIGS. 2 and 3, a larger medication cup 30 and preferably also a smallermedication cup 32 are advantageously provided in the kit 20. Each cuppreferably has volume markings 34 (e.g., in milliliters). An adhesiveelement, such as double-sided tape 36 is provided on the bottom of eachcup. The tape is used to attach the cup onto a surgical drape, sheet, orother surface in the OR. The kit may be provided without any cups,allowing the package 22 to be more flat and compact.

Referring now to FIG. 4, preprinted medication labels 40 having anadhesive back surface are supplied on a peel-off backing sheet 42. Someor all of the labels 40 may have printed lettering 44, with the names ofcommonly used medications. Different kits may have different sets ofpreprinted labels which include labels printed with the names ofmedications commonly used for a specific surgical procedure.

As shown in FIG. 5, a marker 50, which may also be included in the kit20, has a body 52 and a cap 54. The marker is provided for marking onthe labels 40 or flags 62. Preferably the marker has an ink which allowsfor marking on most surfaces, including skin.

Turning now to FIG. 6, one or more medication marking flag assemblies 60are included in the kit 20. The medication marking flag assembly 60preferably includes a colored adhesive flag 62 on a backing sheet 64,and a syringe strip 72. Typically, the kit will have flags of 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 different colors. A preferably rectangular or squareflag section 66 of the flag 62 is joined to a cup section 68 of the flag62 along a fold or bend line 74. Slots 70 extend inwardly from the sidesof the cup section 68, adjacent to the bend line 74. The slots 70 betterallow the flag section 66 to be folded over relative to the cup section68, and to remain in the folded over position. The strip 72, preferablymade of the same material as the flag 62, is also adhered to the backingsheet 64. The flag assembly may be manufactured by die-cutting orstamping of a laminate of base material having the flag material adheredto the backing sheet material. This allows the flag 62 and the strip 72to be formed in a single manufacturing step. The flag 62 may be opaqueor transparent. While FIG. 6 shows a single strip 72, two or more stripsmay be provided on the flag assembly. In addition to placing a strip 72on a syringe, the strips 72 may also be placed on wires, cables or tubesin the OR. The strip 72 then helps the surgical team to identifyspecific cables or tubes. The strips 72 may alternatively be provided ator near the center of the cup section, as shown in dotted lines in FIG.6.

As shown in FIG. 1, the kit is packaged or assembled in a way thatreduces the potential for accidentally dropping any of the kit contentswhen the package 22 is opened. All kit contents are packaged in the cup30. A band, such as a rubber band 35, is looped around the end of themarker 30, and also around the cup 30.

The sheet of printed labels 40 is folded and inserted into the cup. Theflag assemblies 60 are placed into the cup with the adhesive side facingin. This tends to form the flag assemblies into a concave shape. Anytendency for a label to inadvertently peel off of a cup during use isreduced.

In use, the kit 20 is opened in the OR by tearing or cutting the package22 open at the tear line 28. As the cup 30 is preferably visible throughthe package, the natural tendency is to hold the package with the cup 30upright. Then when the package is opened, nothing falls out. This helpsavoid the loss of sterility caused when an object accidentally falls tothe floor as the package is opened. After the contents of the kit 20 areremoved from the package 22, a flag 62 is peeled off of the backingsheet 64 of the flag assembly 60. The flag 62 is attached to a cup 30via the adhesive back of the cup section 68. The cup section 68 has anadhesive back surface, while the flag section 66 does not. The backsurface of the cup section 68 is adhered to the outside cylindrical sidewall of the cup 30, as shown in FIG. 8. The cup 30 or 32 may be providedin the kit 20 or may be separately provided. The flag section 66 is thenfolded down, so that it partially overlies the open top end of the cup30, as shown in FIG. 9. The marker 50 may then be used to mark the flagsection 66 with the name of a drug to be used. Alternatively, a label 40may be peeled off the backing strip 42 and applied to the flag section66. The label 40 preferably has space so that additional information canbe written onto the label by hand. In addition, one or more blank labelsmay be provided. The cup 30 is then clearly marked with a drug label,and preferably also with a specific color (of the flag 62).

The strip 72 is similarly peeled off of the backing sheet 64 and adheredonto a syringe 80. This provides a visual link or connection between thesyringe 80 and the cup 30. A medication or drug is then poured into thecup 30. The drug is then drawn from the cup 30 into the syringe 80, asneeded and administered to the patient. A second cup 32, preferably ofdifferent size from the first cup 30 is similarly labeled with a secondmedication flag 62, having a different color and drug label. The strip72 from the second flag assembly 60 is similarly applied to a secondsyringe, to provide a visual connection or link between the contents ofthe second cup 32 and the second syringe. Since each cup and syringe islabeled with a flag 62 or strip 72 (with the flag 62 optionallyincluding a label 40), the surgical team can readily determine whichdrug is in each syringe. Consequently, the risk of providing the wrongdrug to the patient is reduced.

Thus, a novel medication labeling kit and methods have been shown anddescribed. Various changes and substitutions may of course be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Theinvention, therefore, should not be limited, except by the followingclaims, and their equivalents.

1. A label for medications provided in a cup, comprising: a cup sectionhaving an adhesive back surface a flag section attached to the cupsection; a syringe strip having an adhesive back surface; and with thecup section and the syringe strip on a backing sheet.
 2. The label ofclaim 1 wherein the flag section and the cup section and the syringestrip comprise a colored transparent flexible material.
 3. The label ofclaim 1 wherein the cup section is trapezoidal and the flag section isrectangular or square.
 4. The label of claim 1 wherein the flag sectionis attached to the cup section at a bend line.
 5. The label of claim 4further comprising slots in the cup section at the bend line.
 6. Thelabel of claim 1 wherein the syringe strip is rectangular and has alength to width ratio greater than four.
 7. The label of claim 1 whereinthe syringe strip has length substantially equal to the length of thecup section.
 8. The label of claim 1 wherein the flag section has awidth greater than the width of the cup section.
 9. The label of claim 1wherein the adhesive back surface of the cup section and/or the syringestrip is peelably attached to a backing sheet.
 10. The label of claim 1wherein the syringe strip is separate from the flag section and the cupsection.
 11. A label for medications provided in a cup having an opentop, comprising: a cup section having an adhesive back surface peelablyattached to a backing strip; a flag section attached to the cup sectionat a bend line; a syringe strip not attached to the flag section or thecup section, and having an adhesive back surface also peelably attachedto the backing strip.
 12. The label of claim 11 wherein the flag sectionand the cup section and the syringe strip comprise a colored transparentflexible material.
 13. The label of claim 11 wherein the cup section istrapezoidal and the flag section is rectangular or square.
 14. The labelof claim 11 wherein the syringe strip is rectangular and has a length towidth ratio greater than four.
 15. The label of claim 11 wherein thesyringe strip has length substantially equal to the length of the cupsection.
 16. A method for marking liquid medications comprising thesteps of: peeling a medication flag having an adhesive back surface offof a backing strip without leaving any tactile adhesive residue;adhering a cup section of the medication flag onto a cylindricalsidewall of a medication cup having an open top end; and folding a flagsection of the medication flag attached to the cup section so that theflag section is at an angle relative to the cup section.
 17. The methodof claim 16 further including the steps of peeling a flag strip havingan adhesive back surface off of the backing strip and adhering the flagstrip onto a medical instrument.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein themedical instrument comprises a member selected from the group consistingof a syringe, a surgical tool, a tube and a cable.